… that the PACE bus stop at Dempster/Dodge may be getting a makeover: a new heated shelter with a trash receptacle (and TG hopes, a recycling bin), and bicycle racks. If there is room, PACE will add some landscaping and a vertical marker with a real-time sign.
… that there is some good news on the lake front – or the lakefront front – in the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act: The Army Corps of Engineers will add “fortifications” to the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet to help stop invasive Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan. Congress also authorized the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency study, which includes a focus on natural infrastructure as a way to help communities deal with fluctuating lake levels.
… speaking of fluctuating lake levels, Mike Roche, whose photos are always on the mark, sent this drone photo of the area “formerly known as Greenwood Beach,” as he calls it. It’s in the lower-right corner.
… that CA/Focus Evanston Property, the developers of 811 Emerson, would like to have City Council reduce the number of required parking spaces from 174 to 170 and make half of those available for public use. Wonder how much they’ll charge.
… that, even after the Great Conjunction and Jupiter and Saturn have passed each other, the two are still visible in the evening.
… that, thanks to yesterday’s snow, Evanston has some real snow folks around town.
Is this Snow-da?
The smile might melt your heart but not the snow.
From our readers:
TG: This mural, on the south wall of one of the buildings in the Ridgeville Park District, is a real breath of summer on this frigid winter day.
TG: I thought you might appreciate this sign — on a house on Asbury — updated from the word RESIST: a good upgrade for 2021.
From TG: Thanks for the photos; they’re a great ending to a strange year.
The Traffic Guy thinks …
… that, this being the last day of 2020, folks are offering look-backs and predictions. TG’s look-back would be to the many marches, rallies and protests of the past year, every one of which was peaceful. Outside, Evanstonians set an example of how to get their points across forcefully but civilly. Inside, particularly in City meetings, things were not so. Leaving that one alone, TG offers these predictions for 2021:
- · More people will be using their bicycles. After being cooped up for who-knows-how-many months, more and more people will see the mental, physical and ecological benefits of biking rather than driving.
- · Decorative rocks will become a thing here. Residents will gather rocks cast onto the sand by the strong waves of the lake and find creative uses for them – painting them to look like flowers or critters, erecting cairns, etc.
- · (Inexplicably), the speed limit on Asbury will not be reduced to 25 miles per hour, which is supposed to be the legal limit here.
- · Drivers will shrug at the Emerson/Ridge/Green Bay intersection, abandoning their frustration and taking in the sculpture and the murals. The new focus of frustration will be the construction on the Central Street bridge.
Happy New Year, everyone. Welcome, 2021. You can’t scare us; we made it through 2020, and besides, we’re from Evanston.